Songkran 2019 – celebrate Thai New Year in Thailand

The Thai New Year water festival!

Thinking about travelling to Thailand for Songkran 2019, the Thai New Year festival? It’s a great time to visit Thailand and you’re sure to have a ball where ever you go for the Thailand water festival. We love being part of the Thai New Year festivities and there are lots of places you can go to experience this amazing festival. See below for suggested activities in various locations around Thailand.

Songkran in Thailand is mad, wet fun everywhere you go

There are a few different ways you can choose to take Songkran in Thailand. You can be a complete coward and avoid it, but you’d be missing out on one of the most fantastic and naturally fun-loving festivals in the world. You could try to stay indoors and watch through the windows – we tried this in Chiang Rai one year and someone came inside the bar to get us with a hose! Or you can just get ready, get water-proof and throw yourself into the fun with everyone else. You will never forget Songkran in Thailand, so don’t try to avoid it. See our survival tips at the bottom of this page.

When is Songkran 2019?

Like the Chinese New Year, Thai New Year was once a movable feast depending on the Thai lunar calendar, but to make it easier for tourists to plan a visit for Songkran in Thailand, it was made a fixed date. So in 2019, the Thai New Year festival starts on Saturday 13 April and runs through to Tuesday 16 April. Don’t imagine that things slow down after the first day or two … the Thais love to celebrate and especially at New Year. Expect festivities in some places to go on right through to 22 April!

Mahasongkran is a day in Songkran to visit your local temple and make offerings

The first day of Songkran, Thai New Year’s Eve, is called “Mahasongkran” and is usually devoted to religious events and family get-togethers. The second day, which is New Year’s Day is called “Wan Nao” and many Thais will visit their local temples to help cleanse the Buddha statues and pray. The third day is called “Wan Thaloeng Sok” and that’s when the street festivities really get under way.

What is the Thailand water festival?

A great Songkran photo from an elephant farm in Chiang Mai by Haakon Olaisen

Songkran, Thailand water festival, is the Thai New Year and is a festival celebrating a clean, new start to the new year. Buddhists in Thailand celebrate this important time in the Thai lunar calendar by going to the temple and splashing water on the statues of the Buddha to pay their respects and cleanse the deities for the coming year. It’s also a time when Thai families clean their houses up from top to bottom to get them ready for the next year. If you want to wish Thai people a happy New Year during Songkran, just say “Suk San Wan Songkran”.

How to get to Songkran

Find the cheapest flights to Bangkok for Songkran on TripAdvisor Flights. Getting around within Thailand is very cheap, so once you’re there you can book low cost onward flights, bus tickets or train tickets to get to the best spots to enjoy Songkran.

Where to celebrate Songkran?

It really doesn’t matter where you are in Thailand at Songkran, because the Thai water festival will find you. We’ve been riding up apparently deserted roads way out in the North at this time of year, thinking it was safe and dry, only to have a little kid run out of nowhere with a big grin and throw a cup of water at us. It’s everywhere. But there are places where it’s celebrated more “vigorously” than elsewhere in Thailand.

Songkran in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai has perhaps the biggest official Thailand water festival parade, when the statues are brought out of the temples and paraded through the streets to celebrate this auspicious time in the Thai lunar calendar. You can join in this parade by gently pouring water over the arms and legs of the Buddha, but do so respectfully and don’t pour it on the head of the Buddha. One reason why Chiang Mai probably celebrates Songkran more vigorously than other places in Thailand is that many people from Chiang Mai go off to work in Bangkok and other cities, so this is a chance to come home and celebrate with their friends and families. A lot of Thais also travel to Chiang Mai just to be part of the celebrations there, so book early to avoid disappointment.

Songkran in Pattaya

Tourists, expats and locals all join in the fun of Songkran 2019 in Phuket. Photo by Oleg Blazhyievskyi.

Downtown Pattaya gets into the spirit of Thai New Year quite quickly, because of the number of foreign tourists there who want to take part. But be aware that Patttaya region has specific dates when “water sprinkling” is celebrated in each location. If you want to follow the water festival around Pattaya, get yourself to Bang Saen Beach in Chonburi for 16-17 of April, Sriracha on 16th-17th, Naklua on the 18th, Pattaya on the 19th and Sattahip on the 20th. In Naklua you can catch a Thailand water festival street parade on 18th April with monks and idols, starting in Lan Lo Park and following Sawang Fah Road to Sawang Boriboon Foundation before turning around and heading back to Lan Lo Park. The following day there’s another, shorter parade starting at 10 am at the Chaimongkol Temple and heading down South Road to the walking street, before turning back and returning to the temple about midday. Down on the beach at Naklua there’s markets and food stalls from 8am to 8pm.

Songkran in Phuket

Songkran in Phuket in 2019 will be happening mostly near Patong Beach. Photo by Thirsty Swagman.

Songkran in Phuket starts like any other day, but by the middle of the 13th of April the streets are lined with people and there are utilities cruising around loaded with people and water to splash over passers-by and anyone brave enough to venture onto the streets. It’s a hoot! Bangla Road is the place to be for lots of screaming and jostling and loud music and playful water fights. But there’s also going to be plenty of wet fun happening in Phuket Town and in Kata and Karon beach areas. Like I’ve said before, you don’t have to go looking for Songkran in Thailand, it’ll find you! Patong beach front is the place to be from 13-15 April because that’s where the crowds are thickest and the fun is in full swing. There will be all kinds of extra activities just for Songkran including a procession of the Phra Buddha Sihing around the streets near Patong Beach, the Little Miss Patong beauty festival, a parade of flowers, lots of art shows and, of course, lots of water being splashed around everywhere.

Top rated places to stay in Phuket for under $25 a night with free breakfast include:

Songkran in Phetchaburi

Songkran Queen beauty festival in Phetchaburi Thailand

Phetchaburi celebrates Songkran with a Queen Songkran festival along Khao Phod Road. This is one of many such beauty festivals held around Thailand during the Songkran festival. Make sure to try the local speciality dish of Khao Chae, or rice service in iced water, usually only offered during Songkran festival.

Phetchaburi is only 2.5 hours from Bankgkok by train ($20) or less than two hours by taxi ($40).

Songkran in Chiang Saen (Golden Triangle)

Songkran in Chiang Saen, Golden Triangle, happens down by the Mekong river

Amphoe Chiang Saen holds a fantastic festival of flowers at Thai New Year complete with dragon boat races.

If you happen to be staying at the Anantara Golden Triangle resort you will get to participate in the drum and street parades around the grounds of the resort, get a special Songkran blessing from a monk, visit a local temple for a Songkran presentation of a sand pagoda and have a traditional Khantoke style dinner.

Songkran in Chiang Rai

A river is turned into a swimming pool for Songkran in Chiang Mai

Songkran in Chiang Rai is a great opportunity to join in with the Thai people in the water fun. Just get down to Jet Yod Road and join any one of the bar crews who will provide you with buckets, water pistols or what ever. There’s live music, especially from Sam’s Cat Bar where the big jungle drum will be on the street setting the beat. Or get out of town and see how Songkran is celebrated in the countryside.

On Songkran Day, get up early in the morning to watch and food and daily needs being offered to the monks at the temples. Go back to the temple at midday to witness an offering of blessed water and the changing of the Buddha’s robes. In the afternoon you can watch the image of the Buddha paraded through the streets and see the Miss Songkran beauty festival parade. In the evening there are live music performances and the judging of Miss Songkran.

Songkran in Hua Hin

Give your kids a treat at the Songkran foam party in Hua Hin

Songkran in Hua Hin is very busy because it’s the closest beach location to Bangkok and a great place to celebrate the Thai New Year. But be prepared to get very, very wet because the water festival is celebrated with great gusto in Hua Hin and even p0lice officers are not spared a drenching – check out their waterproof radios and gun holsters! Hua Hin is another place where you’ll find lots of people putting talcum powder on their faces during Songkran and there’s also a great foam party in the streets where your kids will have an absolute ball.

Songkran in Bangkok

Celebrating Songkran in Bangkok with elephants!

Songkran is much more fun if you can get out of bustling Bangkok into the regional cities and towns, but if you are stuck in Bangkok during Songkran 2019, there’s one place to go where you can experience the fun they’re having outside Bangkok … Nakaphirom Park by the Chao Phraya River hosts elements of Songkran for the four major regional areas of Thailand every night during the Songkran festival (10-16 April).

It’s worth knowing that a lot of businesses close down in Bangkok during Songkran week and the whole inner city becomes a bit of a party precinct. Khao San Road, of course, just buzzes during Songkran so if you want to be in the middle of everything that’s happening, check out our guide to staying in Khao San Road.

If you’d prefer to see the action of Songkran 2019 in Bangkok but stay dry (oh come on, have a bit of fun!), you could always grab yourself a viewing spot up on one of the BTS Skytrain overpasses around Silom where you’ll get a great view and hopefully get in and out without getting soaked.

What should I expect at Songkran 2019?

Well, first of all this is the Thailand water festival so you should expect to get very, very wet! Thai New Year occurs in pretty much the hottest part of the year, so getting wet is part of the fun. Songkran is a water festival, so the Thai people will be looking to throw, spray, splash or drop water on anyone and everyone who comes within their reach. This usually comes in the form of crowds of people with buckets, hoses and water guns spraying passers-by, but it can also come in the form of ute-loads of fun-loving people with a 44 gallon drum of water, driving around and catching people by surprise. But it’s all fun and getting wet brings you good luck for the next year!

Expect to get very, very wet in Thailand during Songkran 2019

The water throwing is only supposed to be on the first few days of New Year, but people get carried away and in some places you’ll find it happens for 5-6 days. In Chiang Mai, the locals say that so much water gets thrown during Songkran it is almost inevitable that rain and storms will occur in the last few days of the festival, just from all the evaporation off the streets! Secondly, you can expect that a lot of public places will be closed during this period, because the Thai people get a five-day holiday to go home and visit their relatives. But it also means a lot more Thai people are out on the streets having fun and it’s a great time to meet the people out of their work environment and see how they play. Expats working in Thailand also get the five-day holiday, so you’ll see a lot more of them out on the streets too! Thirdly, expect a lot of people to be very drunk. One of the ways Thais like to celebrate Songkran is by drinking lots of alcohol, often starting early in the day and not stopping until well after dark.

Expected popular places to be much more crowded during Songkran 2019 in Thailand

Fourthly, expect places to be a lot more crowded. As well as all the Thais and expats out on the streets celebrating the five-day holiday, Thailand gets a lot more tourists at this time of year. So make sure to book ahead for accommodation! Finally, don’t get upset. Although the water throwing is supposed to end at dusk, there’ll always be people who will carry on after dark (often drunk tourists), wetting anyone they see even you say no or are dressed up for dinner. Just steer clear of RVs with lots of people in the back and groups of young people on the streets.

Din Saw Phong is the tradition of covering yourself with chalk for Songkran in Thailand

PS: There’s a bit of a tradition associated with the Thailand water festival that you may or may not encounter. Many Thai people wipe soft chalk powder (“Din Saw Phong”) on their faces and bodies. Some will offer to do it for you too. But don’t be tempted to help them apply their powder as touching others without permission is bad manners.

Tips to survive Songkran in Thailand

Above all else, have fun at Songkran 2019 in Thailand and be nice to the kids!

Watch what you’re doing with water. It might look like great fun to throw a bucket of water over a passing scooter rider, but it could knock them over and cause serious injury. Also, if the rider is dressed well, they are probably on their way to work. If they hold up their hand, please respect that they don’t want to get wet.

Don’t throw or shoot water at monks, old people or babies. This is considered very bad form and is likely to get people angry with you.

If you want to take photos or videos, that’s perfectly fine and lots of people will pose for you. But wrap your cameras in plastic so they are waterproof. Also put your mobile phone, wallet and passport in a plastic bag too.

Watch how you dress! You should expect to get wet … probably soaked to the skin. Girls, if you are wearing light, thin blouses they will probably become see-through once wet and the young, drunk Thai guys who rarely see that kind of thing may give you a lot more attention than you think. Also, take a change of dry clothes and a towel in a plastic bag in case you sick of being totally wet.

If you want to get away from the water for a bit and dry out, just head into any bar or restaurant. But don’t sit near the door or window, as you’ll still be a target.

KEEP SMILING and retain a good sense of humour, because even when you’re sick and tired of being wet, there’ll be someone else waiting with a bucket of cold water to “bless” you!

Come back to this page often as the date gets closer – we’ll be updating it regularly with lots of tips about specific places and ways to enjoy Songkran 2019.

Tony and Tracy Gilbert are veteran Asian travellers with experience living and travelling in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and other Asian countries. Tony is a former journalist and editor who writes for many travel websites.

Although the festival officially ends on Friday 15th, expect to see some people still celebrating around Khao San Road and Sukhumvit into Saturday and maybe even Sunday before they have to head back to their jobs on Monday.

Songkran is really a time for fun and laughter. We had been going there specially to Pattaya songkran for the last 10 years of more and still want to be there this April. This article is perfectly written and gives perfect explanation to the first time travelers. Go there!! have fun but !! you cant enjoy more than this anywhere in the world. Songkran is very special!!

We are going to Thailand in April 2016 so one way or the other we are gonna enjoy Songkran. We were planning on going back to Bangkok for the festivities from Chang Mai. If I read everything above correctly it will be fun anywhere else to enjoy the ‘party’ is that right?

POPULAR CATEGORY

We may receive some small compensation from advertisers on this site, which is used to offset the hosting and operating costs of the website. This compensation does not affect the price you pay for these services and we always strive to provide the best prices possible for all travel options featured on this website.

By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

This website uses "cookies" (small anonymous data packages about your location and browser type) to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to the use of "cookies".